The brand-new start-up transforming the mental health of Australians

In Australia, mental illness is becoming impossible to ignore. In 2017, 1 in 4 adults are suffering from a mental condition. To make matters worse, 8 Australians commit suicide every day and an extra 25 other Australian’s experience a suicide attempt. If you’re feeling down, fatigued, worried or anxious, you are not alone.

Earlier this year, lysnwas launched by Medical Doctor Dr.Jonathan King. lysn is an online platform that connects people seeking help with qualified Australian mental health professionals. Consultations take place by video (similar to Skype). The sessions are cheaper than a face to face psychologist appointment and there are timeframes before and after work to suit each individual. This “tele-therapy” method is set to tackle the mental health and depression rates.

“If you live in rural Australia, imagine having 1,000 friends on Facebook and every year you have to remove 4 friends from your list. That is how a person in rural Australia lives today… He or she will lose 4 friends each year to suicide. This is an unacceptable statistic and things need to change,” according to Dr. King, who told myBody+Soul “Lysn’s online mental health platform is a game changer and will bring patient-centric mental health care into all Australian homes,” and this is why.

1. E-Help means little to no stigma

While Australia has been one of the leaders on mental health awareness campaigns, the stigma of mental health is still very real. We all know how it feels to ask your boss for an hour off work to try and see a doctor. We worry that our boss or colleagues might have negative opinions, judgements or stereotypes about the situation. The pressure of stigma can be so great, that only 35 per cent of Australian’s suffering from mental illness access help each year. Online therapy, removes this stigma, allowing anyone to get help from the comfort of their own home, or personal private space at their own time. This will allow the removal of stigma overshadowing many of us, and allow everyone to have access to a happier and less anxious life.

2. Available anytime, anywhere

Imagine suffering through depression or anxiety, and having to wait months before seeing a psychologist or mental health professional. While you may think that is unbelievable in Australia, it happens every day in rural and regional communities. Whilst there are over 29,000 registered psychologists in this country, the majority are located in metropolitan areas. This creates a health divide in in regional/ rural Australia where only 1.5 percent of the population access mental health services. Providing easy to access, online or phone therapy, allows everyone in Australia, no matter what distance to seek help within an appropriate timely manner. Fortunately, most people will find help within 24-48 hours on Lysn’s online psychological service.

3. Access to a psych that fits your unique needs

If you have tried but failed to find a therapist that fits your needs, you are not alone. Many Australian’s fail to find the right therapist, with statistics proving that 30 per cent of people drop off before their 3rd session of therapy. Most people find it overwhelming to find a compatible therapist in their area using Google or pulling from a health practitioner database. Lysn aims to take out the difficulty and match people with our personalised matching algorithm that allows people to find the most suited person to fit their needs. This might seem like you are picking a therapist on a dating website, but when you look at the big picture, e-therapy allows each person to select the best therapist match for you, regardless of geographical limitations. This prevents people from being limited to their usual local choice of health professionals but allows them to choose from many great professionals around the country, who may fit them better by culture, language or area of expertise.

4. Continuity of care

More and more of us are moving interstate and worldwide more for work and play which means that healthcare needs to adapt. E-therapy allows Australian’s to stay connected to their therapist allowing for better long term care as the cycle of continuity in treatment is not broken. With Lysn, people will be able to continue with their care plan instead of finding a new therapist.

The data speaks for itself...

8 Australians commit suicide every day, 6 of them being men

For every suicide, 25 Australian’s have failed attempts each day.

20 per cent of Australians suffer from a mental health condition every year.

Around 43 per cent of Australian’s suffer mental health illness over their lifetime.

In regional/rural areas, the stats get worst, for every 243 people, 1 person commits suicide, more than double the rate of the metropolitan population.

Example of workers in Financial services have a rate of 30 per cent off depression vs the national average of 6.4 percent.

Between 2001-2012, there were 369 suicides by health professionals in Australia

If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 131 114, Beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. In an emergency, call 000. For a correct treatment plan, your first port of call should be with your GP.